


Kozak Clan Chapter 2

by Morgue_142



Series: Kozak Clan [3]
Category: Kozak Clan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dark Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7474902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgue_142/pseuds/Morgue_142





	Kozak Clan Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

“Why does it always have to be so peaceful in places I’ll never be able to live?” 

The young man spoke irritably to himself. He gazed out over the valleys below him. The sun was low, there were few clouds, and the light breeze carried no sound of the human commotion he was used to. He walked up a path through the mountains of Japan. “Here Terry! A mission just for you!” he shouted into the sky, “Just a simple stroll into the Chubu region, and up a goddamn mountain!” He paused to catch his breath, “If it weren’t so beautiful up here, I’d be furious that you sent me as far away from a woman as possible!” Terrance Lekroy (Annihilator) kicked a few rocks down the side of the cliff, and turned around to continue his trek. He had been alone for a few days, nothing new. He had passed through a small village of sorts earlier in the week, stocked up on supplies, and learned as much as he could from the locals about his destination; a nearly hidden temple or large dojo of some sort, resting in the cliffs of mount Hotaka in Japan. He loved the concept of this job. Just walk in and kill everyone. Simple enough. But the actual execution of this mission he completely overlooked.

For one, he had not expected the climb to take so long. And secondly, he had forgotten a minor detail about the targets until just the other night; Samurai. “Fucking Samurai…” he muttered. He deeply respected their mentality and combat styles, but he despised their lifestyle. Isolating themselves from society, from the real world, was too much for him to accept in his own doctrine. There’s no fun in it. No nightlife, no lights, no excitement: NO FUN.

He reached a large outcropping and crouched down, further down the long path he saw a building nestled into the side of the mountain. To his trained eyes it seemed more like a training ground than a temple, with a classic Edo-Japanese architecture and several sets of varying equipment outside. There were six people outside; an aged man in a set of blue robes, two fully armored samurai guards, and three young men in similar but less decorated gray robes. Another young man in a gray robe appeared from the main door at the front of the building. He gestured for the old man to come inside. The other young men followed them. The two armored guards remained in the open training yard.  
Terry stood up, and dropped his travel gear and bags. “This is Annihilator, clocking in for tonight.” He checked his equipment, armor, and ammunition, “Let’s get started.” He dropped down the small overhang and strode directly toward the compound. One of the guards was patrolling the grounds, while the other stood still at the door. They shifted as they spotted the intruder. They watched in silence as he approached their home. The patrolling guard waited until Annihilator reached the training equipment before he stepped in front of him to block his path. They spoke no words. After a long silence, they nodded to each other, and bowed. Annihilator unsheathed his dual crimson ninjato. His opponent unsheathed a single steel katana. They braced their stances, inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and waited.

To anyone else, it would feel like an eternity, but to the two warriors, it was simply never enough time. They scanned each other, over and over again. Find a flaw. Find a weakness. The armor? The weapon? The man himself? They stood waiting. The slightest movement could give them all the information they needed. Annihilator shifted his weight from his right leg, as though it was injured or sore. His opponent clearly noticed, though he did not move. He was well trained, no signs of incompetence in his attitude or armor. This man was ready for a real fight.

The trap was set, Annihilator made his move. A quick flash of red and silver. The two blades parried one another. Again. Again. And once more. The two men rotated in a circle, the blades between them lashing at each other like coiled vipers. They made no mistakes. Each attack was returned with a matching parry. Each strike was dodged with swift movement. They could not break the other’s defense. Annihilator dropped back, feinting a stumble on his right leg. ‘Time to spring the trap’ he thought to himself. ‘Gonna catch me a good one today.’

The guard lunged a powerful strike at his right leg. Annihilator allowed the attack to land. The blade stuck into his leg. But no blood nor screams of pain left him. He grinned under his mask. Grabbing the guard’s katana, Annihilator pried it from his leg and shattered it with the armor of his left elbow. The blade had struck a thickened piece of armor, hidden under his clothes. Too heavy and strong to pierce with such a light weapon. The guard backed away, stunned.  
The man lowered his hands, and knelt to the ground. His head raised and proud. Annihilator stepped forward and plunged his right blade through the man’s chest. Blood flowed from the wound as he held the sword there. More blood trickled from underneath the guard’s helmet. “I lived serving the Konogaiwa family. May they find me worthy in death.” he spoke through the pain. Annihilator lowered himself to be face level with the man. He bowed his head, “They won’t. Your skill is beyond them. They should fear you in the next life.” The dying man smiled wide, gazed up at the sky for only a moment, and dropped his head as the last breath left his body.  
Annihilator slowly and gently removed the weapon from the warrior’s chest. “If only there were more men like you, and less like me.” He lowered the man to the ground. Placed the handle of his broken katana in his still warm hands, and rose to confront the guard at the door.

The second guard readied himself. Drawing his own katana as Annihilator approached. They met at the bottom of the steps to the building. This man was clearly weaker than the other. Strands of gray hair protruded from his helmet. Wrinkled skin shone between his armor. There were cataracts in his eyes. Experience may make a difference, but in this scenario, speed was of greater advantage. They bowed, and took stance.  
The older man moved first, swinging from left to right. Annihilator smoothly dodged and landed a blow across the man’s shoulder. The guard continued to stand firm. He cleanly parried a strike from Annihilator, and kicked him off balance, using the opportunity to land a powerful strike to Annihilator’s torso. The armor stopped the blade, but did not absorb the impact. He stumbled slightly, then spun as he parried another attack from the guard. Blocking with one blade, he trapped his opponent’s weapon with the other. He spun once more as he disarmed the man, sending the katana flying into the yard. As he came back around, he sent the older man tumbling back against the steps with a solid kick from his right leg. The man tried to rise as a ninjato pierced his thigh. Annihilator rushed forward and swung the ninjato in his left hand, slashing the man’s throat. As he collapsed to the ground, Annihilator removed his blade and sheathed them both. He looked around the yard once more and turned to continue into the dojo.  
He stood at the wide doors to the building before him, inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and walked inside.

Keeping a steady pace, he turned down a darkened hallway to his left. Suddenly, a young man rounded the corner. A flash of red. Swift, crimson steel. An ornamental tray of drinks toppled to the ground. Blood trickled to the floor. The boy’s eyes stared into Annihilator’s mask, his startled expression fading into a blank gaze as he fell against the wall. Annihilator pried his blade from the boy’s torso, and moved on down the hallway towards a large doorway. The next room was the center of the compound, a fairly massive, open dojo room, with large ancestral displays and portraits. A central seat and table, where the man in blue robes sat, was covered in décor. The other young men from outside were gathered around him, each seated on the floor near the table. There were two more fully armored guards, both on opposite sides of the room. Annihilator had his targets. Now to finish his contract.

A whirling shriek sliced through the air as small dagger flew from the doorway. The Samurai guard on the far side of the table grabbed his throat as he tried to shout a warning. He collapsed onto the ground as blood poured from his neck. Another shriek as the second guard rushed to place himself in front of his master. He stood, one dagger in his shoulder, trying desperately to hold his sword ready. A third silver knife caught him in the throat, he fell. The three gray-robed men stood and backed away as the blue mentor gestured for them to lower their guard. The blue mentor slowly rose from his seat at the sight of the being entering before him.  
A black-clothed wraith of a man, with the markings of a scorpion, and armor as dark red as the blood he surely spilled, wielding dual ninjato of equal shade. He wore a haunting, horned, black mask with softly shining red eyes. The being approached menacingly toward the center of the room, stopping only a few meters from the blue mentor’s position. The blue robed man spoke in his native tongue to the creature he was now host to, “It is not often that one comes to me begging for death, but in this case, I feel no pity in obliging your request.” The being remained still, its’ head fixated on the floor in front of it. Then, in a horrid American accent, the intruder replied to him in the same Japanese language, as it raised a blade pointed directly at him, “Ahgura Konogaiwa! The Ezhoneno Family would like me to send their regards. And I am to ‘present you with the gift of eternal peace in the arms of eternity.’ ”

The men all took battle stances. Ahgura shifted himself in discomfort at the situation. Annihilator grinned beneath his mask. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and stepped toward his opponents…


End file.
